Melt-in-Your-Mouth Iced Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 0.5 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 cup butter softened
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 
• 1 large eggs 
• 3 cups flour all-purpose
• 42 servings colors paste food coloring assorted
• 42 servings royal icing 
• 0.5 teaspoon salt 
• 42 servings decorator sprinkles 
• 1.5 cups sugar 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Equipment

• bowl
• baking sheet
• oven
• hand mixer
• cookie cutter

Directions

1. Beat butter at medium speed of an electric mixer 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating well.
2. Add egg, and beat well.
3. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients.
4. Add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in vanilla.
5. Roll dough to 1/4" thickness on a lightly floured surface.
6. Cut with decorative 3" cookie cutters.
7. Place 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
8. Bake at 350 for 9 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.
9. Spoon about 2/3 cup white Royal Icing into a decorating bag fitted with decorating tip #3 (small round tip). Pipe white icing to outline cookies and to outline detail desired inside cookies.
10. Divide remaining Royal Icing into a separate bowl for each color desired; color as desired with paste food coloring. Slowly stir just enough water into each bowl of icing to make "flow-in icing" that is still thick but flows into a smooth surface after stirring. (
11. Add water a little at a time; if flow-in icing is too watery, it may not dry properly and may run under outline into another color area.)
12. Fill decorating bags (using no tips) about half full of flow-in icing. Snip off small tip of cone. Pipe desired colors of icing to cover areas between the Royal Icing outline; spread icing into corners and hard-to-reach areas using a wooden pick, as necessary.
13. Add flow-in icing 1 color at a time, allowing icing to dry before changing colors. Avoid using excess icing, or it will spill over into another color area. If air bubbles form in icing, use a sterilized straight pin to remove them. Decorate with assorted candies and decorator sprinkles while icing is still wet.